Wireless communication device, wireless communication method, information processing device, information processing method, and program

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication device includes a transmission portion, an information acquisition portion, a storage portion, a selection portion, and a transmission control portion. The transmission portion transmits information. The information acquisition portion acquires location information for the wireless communication device that includes a received signal strength of a signal that is transmitted from a base station in the vicinity. The storage portion stores, in association with specific location information, regulating information that regulates the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device. The selection portion selects from the storage portion the regulating information associated with the location information acquired by the information acquisition portion. The transmission control portion controls, based on the regulating information that was selected by the selection portion, the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/057,078, filed Mar.27, 2008 and claims priority to Japan Application No. JP 2007-088792,filed Mar. 29, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wireless communication device, awireless communication method, an information processing device, aninformation processing method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art

Networking services such as instant messaging (IM), social networkingsystems (SNS), Web diaries, and the like are being widely used thesedays by individual users with communication devices to publishinformation about themselves. The user information may include, forexample, information as to whether the communication device is online ornot, or current status information that the users themselves setmanually (studying, taking a break, in a meeting, or the like).

The users can also publish location information about themselves thatthe communication devices acquire using location estimation technologiessuch as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi),and the like. The users' publishing of their location information opensa range of possibilities. For example, if the user can know that afriend is close by, he can invite that friend to lunch. If the friendhas gone to a sightseeing spot, the user can ask the friend for hisimpressions of the area. If the friend is working at his company, theuser can know that his friend is not available for leisure activities,and so on. That is, of every user publishes his own locationinformation, every user can know every other user's location and canutilize that location information in communicating with the other users.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No.JP-A-2002-345012, technology is disclosed that is related to a systemthat provides to a third party the user's location information describedabove. Specifically, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No.JP-A-2002-345012, a mobile wireless terminal device is disclosed thatcontrols whether location information that is measured by GPS ispublished or location information other than the actual location ispublished, depending on the communication partner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, with the known mobile wireless terminal device, it is notpossible to control, based on where the user is located, whether or notthe location information is published. Therefore, with the known mobilewireless terminal device, the user's location information is publishedeven when the user is at home or at work, so that the location of theuser's home or workplace is provided to a third party in some cases.That is, a problem with the known mobile wireless terminal device isthat the user's privacy cannot be adequately protected.

Accordingly, the present invention addresses the problem described aboveto provide a wireless communication device, a wireless communicationmethod, an information processing device, an information processingmethod, and a program that are new and improved and that can enhanceprotection of information related to the current location.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided awireless communication device that includes a transmission portion, aninformation acquisition portion, a storage portion, a selection portion,and a transmission control portion. The transmission portion transmitsinformation. The information acquisition portion acquires locationinformation of the wireless communication device, the locationinformation including at least one of information that indicates alocation of the wireless communication device or a received signalstrength of a signal that is transmitted from a base station in thevicinity of the wireless communication device. The storage portionstores, in association with arbitrary location information, regulatinginformation that regulates the transmission from the transmissionportion of the information that corresponds to the location of thewireless communication device. The selection portion selects from thestorage portion the regulating information that is associated with thelocation information that was acquired by the information acquisitionportion. The transmission control portion controls, in accordance withthe regulating information that was selected by the selection portion,the transmission from the transmission portion of the information thatcorresponds to the location of the wireless communication device.

In this configuration, the location information for the wirelesscommunication device that the information acquisition portion acquiresincludes one of latitude and longitude data that indicate the locationof the wireless communication device, the received signal strength ofthe signal that is transmitted from the base station in the vicinity ofthe wireless communication device, which is uniquely obtainable in thelocation of the wireless communication device, and the like. Further,the information from the transmission portion that corresponds to thelocation of the wireless communication device, for example, theregulating information that regulates the transmission of the locationinformation for the wireless communication device, is stored in thestorage portion in association with the location information for thewireless communication device. The selection portion selects from thestorage portion the regulating information that is associated with thelocation information for the wireless communication device, and thetransmission control portion, in accordance with the selected regulatinginformation, controls the transmission from the transmission portion ofthe information that corresponds to the location of the wirelesscommunication device. That is, the wireless communication device cancontrol the transmission of the information that corresponds to its ownlocation, based on one of its own location and the received signalstrength of the signal that is transmitted from the base station in thevicinity.

The regulating information may also include information that regulateswhether or not the location information for the wireless communicationdevice is transmitted to the transmission portion, and the transmissioncontrol portion may also control, in accordance with the regulatinginformation that was selected by the selection portion, whether or notthe location information for the wireless communication device istransmitted from the transmission portion. For example, in a case wherethe regulating information that was selected by the selection portionprohibits the transmission of the location information for the wirelesscommunication device, the transmission control portion prohibits thetransmission from the transmission portion of the location informationfor the wireless communication device. That is, the wirelesscommunication device can control, according to its own location, whetheror not its own location information is transmitted. In this manner, thewireless communication device can control, according to its currentlocation, that is, according to the current location of the user ofwireless communication device, whether or not its own locationinformation is transmitted. This makes it possible to enhance theprotection of information pertaining to the current location of thewireless communication device and the user of wireless communicationdevice.

The regulating information may also include information for transmissionthat expresses the location information, with which the information fortransmission is associated in the storage portion, in a different form,and the transmission control portion may also transmit to thetransmission portion the information for transmission that is includedin the regulating information that was selected by the selectionportion. In this case, the information for transmission is informationthat expresses the location information in a different form. Forexample, the information for transmission may be information thatdescribes a place, such as a home, a company, a café, or the like, thatis in the location indicated by the associated location information. Theinformation for transmission may also be information that indicates astatus, such as “going home”, “in a meeting”, “free time”, or the like,in accordance with the location indicated by the associated locationinformation. Therefore, if the transmission control portion transmitsthe information for transmission to the transmission portion based onthe regulating information, it is possible to publish the informationthat corresponds to the location of the wireless communication devicewithout publishing the location information for the wirelesscommunication device to a third party.

In a case where the regulating information that corresponds to thelocation information for the wireless communication device that wasacquired by the information acquisition portion is not stored in thestorage portion, the transmission control portion may also transmit tothe transmission portion the location information for the wirelesscommunication device that was acquired by the information acquisitionportion. In this case, in a location for which there is no particularassociated regulating information, the location information for thewireless communication device is transmitted, so it is possible for athird party to know the location of the wireless communication device.

The regulating information may also include effective period informationthat indicates an effective period for the regulating information, andthe selection portion may also select the regulating information thatcorresponds to the location information acquired by the informationacquisition portion and that is within the effective period. This isbecause there may be cases in which the user of the wirelesscommunication device does not want to publish to a third party in aspecific location or during a specific time period. For example, theuser of the wireless communication device may want to publish to thethird party when at work on a weekday, but may not want to publish tothe third party when at work on a holiday. In this sort of case, if theeffective period information that indicates the holiday is included inthe regulating information that prohibits the transmission of thelocation information in the workplace, the wireless communication devicedoes not transmit the location information when the user of the wirelesscommunication device is in the workplace on the holiday. That is,setting the effective period in the regulating information makes itpossible, for example, to control whether or not the locationinformation for the wireless communication device is published accordingto the location of the wireless communication device and the currenttime. Thus the information pertaining to the user's current location canbe even better protected.

A registration portion that registers the regulating information in thestorage portion in association with the location information may also beprovided in the wireless communication device. In this configuration,the registration portion can register the regulating information thatthe user of the wireless communication device wants to register in thestorage portion in association with the location information, based on aregulating information registration operation that the user of thewireless communication device performs.

The storage portion may also store the received base station signalstrength in association with the regulating information. Further, theselection portion may also select the regulating information that isassociated with one of the received base station signal strength thatmatches the received base station signal strength that was acquired bythe information acquisition portion and the received base station signalstrength that resembles the received base station signal strength thatwas acquired by the information acquisition portion. In thisconfiguration, it is possible to select the regulating information thatis associated with the location information for the wirelesscommunication device based on the received signal strength of the signalthat the wireless communication device received from the base station inthe vicinity, without estimating the location of the wirelesscommunication device. Therefore, the need to store the locationinformation for the base station in the wireless communication deviceand the need to query a location estimation server that estimates thelocation of the wireless communication device are eliminated. It thusbecomes possible to scale back the hardware and reduce the processingload.

Further, in order to address the problem described above, according toanother embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a programthat causes a computer to function as a wireless communication devicethat includes a transmission portion, an information acquisitionportion, a storage portion, a selection portion, and a transmissioncontrol portion. The transmission portion transmits information. Theinformation acquisition portion acquires location information of thewireless communication device, the location information including atleast one of information that indicates a location of the wirelesscommunication device or a received signal strength of a signal that istransmitted from a base station in the vicinity of the wirelesscommunication device. The storage portion stores in a storage medium, inassociation with arbitrary location information, regulating informationthat regulates the transmission from the transmission portion of theinformation that corresponds to the location of the wirelesscommunication device. The selection portion selects from the storageportion the regulating information that is associated with the locationinformation that was acquired by the information acquisition portion.The transmission control portion controls, in accordance with theregulating information that was selected by the selection portion, thetransmission from the transmission portion of the information thatcorresponds to the location of the wireless communication device.

The program can perform the functions of the information acquisitionportion, the storage portion, the selection portion, the transmissioncontrol portion, and the like described above in computer hardwareresources that include, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.That is, it is possible to cause the computer that uses the program tofunction as the wireless communication device.

Further, in order to address the problem described above, according toanother embodiment of the present invention, there is provided awireless communication method. The wireless communication methodincludes a step of acquiring location information of a wirelesscommunication device, the location information including at least one ofinformation that indicates a location of the wireless communicationdevice or a received signal strength of a signal that is transmittedfrom a base station in the vicinity of the wireless communicationdevice. The wireless communication method also includes a step ofselecting, from regulating information that is associated with arbitrarylocation information and that regulates transmission from a transmissiondevice of information that is stored in a storage medium and thatcorresponds to the location of the wireless communication device, theregulating information that corresponds to the location informationacquired. The wireless communication method also includes a step ofcontrolling, in accordance with the regulating information that wasselected from the storage medium, transmission from the transmissiondevice of the information that corresponds to the location of thewireless communication device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an information processing device that can communicate with aplurality of communication devices. The information processing deviceincludes a transmission portion, an information acquisition portion, acomputation portion, and a transmission control portion. Thetransmission portion transmits information. The information acquisitionportion acquires from each of the communication devices information fromwhich it is possible to estimate a location of the communication device.The computation portion computes a distance between a first one of thecommunication devices and a second one of the communication devicesbased on the information acquired from each of the communicationdevices. The transmission control portion controls transmission from thetransmission portion of information that corresponds to the location ofthe first communication device, based on the distance between the firstcommunication device and the second communication device that wascomputed by the computation portion.

In this configuration, the computation portion computes a distancebetween the first communication device and the second communicationdevice. The transmission control portion controls the transmission fromthe transmission portion of information that is based on the location ofthe first communication device, according to the distance between thefirst communication device and the second communication device that wascomputed by the computation portion. Therefore, the informationprocessing device can control the information that is published to thesecond communication device according to the distance between the firstcommunication device and the second communication device, withoutallowing the first communication device to know the distance to thesecond communication device.

In a case where the distance between the first communication device andthe second communication device that was computed by the computationportion exceeds a specified set distance, the transmission controlportion may also prohibit the transmission from the transmission portionof the location information for the first communication device.According to this configuration, the information processing device canprevent the publication of the location information for the firstcommunication device, and information for transmission that expressesthe location information in a different form, to the another of thecommunication devices when the another of the communication devices islocated more than the specified set distance from the firstcommunication device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a program that causes a computer to function as an informationprocessing device that can communicate with a plurality of communicationdevices and that includes an information acquisition portion, acomputation portion, and a transmission control portion. The informationacquisition portion acquires from each of the communication devicesinformation from which it is possible to estimate a location of thecommunication device. The computation portion computes a distancebetween a first one of the communication devices and a second one of thecommunication devices based on the information acquired from each of thecommunication devices. The transmission control portion controlstransmission from a transmission device of information that correspondsto the location of the first communication device, based on the distancebetween the first communication device and the second communicationdevice that was computed by the computation portion.

The program can perform the functions of the information acquisitionportion, the computation portion, the transmission control portion, andthe like described above in computer hardware resources that include,for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. That is, it is possibleto cause the computer that uses the program to function as theinformation processing device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an information processing method. The information processingmethod includes a step of acquiring from each of a plurality ofcommunication devices information from which it is possible to estimatea location of the communication device. The information processingmethod also includes a step of computing a distance between a first oneof the communication devices and a second one of the communicationdevices based on the information acquired from each of the communicationdevices. The information processing method also includes a step ofcontrolling transmission of information that corresponds to the locationof the first communication device, based on the computed distancebetween the first communication device and the second communicationdevice.

According to the embodiments of the present invention described above,it is possible to enhance the protection of information pertaining tothe current location of the wireless communication device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory figure that shows a configuration of a wirelesscommunication system according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that shows a hardware configuration of amobile device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that shows a functional configuration of themobile device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory figure that shows examples of locationrelationships between the mobile device and base stations according tothe first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory figure that shows examples of signal strengthsthat are measured by an information acquisition portion;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory figure that shows examples of base stationinformation that is stored in a storage portion;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of a regulatinginformation registration screen;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory figure that shows examples of the regulatinginformation that is stored in the storage portion;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of a display ofinformation related to current locations of other mobile devices;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory figure that shows another example of a displayof information related to the current locations of other mobile devices;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart that shows a flow of a wireless communicationmethod that is executed by the mobile device according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory figure that shows a specific example ofinformation that is transmitted from a communication portion in thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of the regulatinginformation that is stored in the storage portion in a modificationexample of the first embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart that shows a flow of the modification example ofthe first embodiment;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of aconfiguration of a wireless communication system according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram that shows a functional configuration of amobile device and a control server according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of a regulatinginformation registration screen;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of the regulatinginformation that is stored in a storage portion of the control serveraccording to the second embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart that shows a flow of an operation of the mobiledevice according to the second embodiment; and

FIG. 20 is a flowchart that shows a flow of an information processingmethod that is executed by the control server according to the secondembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that,in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elementsthat have substantially the same function and structure are denoted withthe same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of thesestructural elements is omitted.

The preferred embodiments will be described in the order of the itemsshown below.

1. Description of a first embodiment of the present invention

1-1. Overview and purpose of a wireless communication system accordingto the first embodiment

1-2. Hardware configuration of a mobile device according to the firstembodiment

1-3. Functions of the mobile device according to the first embodiment

1-3-1. Method of estimating location of the mobile device

1-3-2. Registration of regulating information

1-3-3. Transmission control based on the regulating information

1-3-4. Examples of other parties' location information displayed on themobile device

1-4. Operation of the mobile device according to the first embodiment

1-5. Modification examples of the first embodiment

2. Description of a second embodiment of the present invention

2-1. Purpose of the second embodiment

2-2. Control server functions according to the second embodiment

2-3. Control server operation according to the second embodiment

3. Conclusion

1. Description of a First Embodiment 1-1. Overview and Purpose of aWireless Communication System According to the First Embodiment

First, an overview and a purpose of a wireless communication systemaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory figure that shows a configuration of a wirelesscommunication system 1 according to the first embodiment. The wirelesscommunication system 1 includes wireless communication devices such as amobile device 20A, a mobile device 20B, a mobile device 20C, a mobiledevice 20D, and the like. Each mobile device 20 is connected through acommunication network 12.

FIG. 1 shows a laptop personal computer (PC) as the mobile device 20A, amobile game device as the mobile device 20B, a laptop PC as the mobiledevice 20C, and a mobile telephone as the mobile device 20D, but themobile device 20 is not limited to these devices. For example, themobile device 20 may also be a home image processing device (DVDrecorder, video deck, or the like), a Personal Handyphone System (PHS),a mobile music playback device, a mobile image processing device, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a home game device, an electricappliance, or the like.

Furthermore, the communication network 12 may also include a fixed linecable such as a copper wire, an optical fiber cable, or the like, a datatransmission channel such as radio waves or the like, a data relaydevice such as a router, a base station that controls communication, orthe like, and so on.

Each mobile device 20 like those described above is provided with afunction for acquiring location information that indicates the locationof the mobile device 20 itself. Each mobile device 20 can also transmitand publish its own acquired location information to another mobiledevice 20 through the communication network 12. The publishing by eachmobile device 20 of its own location information opens a range ofpossibilities. For example, if the user of the mobile device 20A canknow that the user of the mobile device 20B, who is a friend, is closeby, the user of the mobile device 20A can invite the user of the mobiledevice 20B to lunch. If the user of the mobile device 20A can know thatthe user of the mobile device 20C, who is a colleague, has gone to ahigh-class Japanese restaurant, the user of the mobile device 20A canask the user of the mobile device 20C for his impressions of therestaurant. If the user of the mobile device 20A can know that the userof the mobile device 20D, who is a friend, is working at his company,the user of the mobile device 20A can know that the user of the mobiledevice 20D is not available for leisure activities, and so on. That is,if each mobile device 20 publishes its own location information, theuser of each mobile device 20 can know the location information for theother users and can use the location information for the other users forcommunication with the other users.

However, there are cases in which the user of the mobile device 20, forreasons of privacy, does not want to disclose to a third party aspecific location such as the user's home, workplace, school, favoriterestaurant, or the like. Therefore, if the location information for themobile device 20 were to be published regardless of the current locationof the mobile device 20, it might create a problem for the user of themobile device 20.

Accordingly, the first embodiment of the present invention was createdto address this sort of situation. The protection of information relatedto the current location of the mobile device 20 and the user of themobile device 20 can be enhanced by the first embodiment of the presentinvention. The configuration and operation of the mobile device 20 willbe described in detail below.

1-2. Hardware Configuration of a Mobile Device According to the FirstEmbodiment

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that shows a hardware configuration of themobile device 20. The mobile device 20 includes a central processingunit (CPU) 201, a read only memory (ROM) 202, a random access memory(RAM) 203, a host bus 204, a bridge 205, an external bus 206, aninterface 207, an input device 208, an output device 210, a storagedevice (HDD) 211, a drive 212, and a communication device 215.

The CPU 201 functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a controldevice and controls the overall operation of the mobile device 20according to various types of programs. The CPU 201 may also be amicroprocessor. The ROM 202 stores programs, computation parameters, andthe like that are used by the CPU 201. The RAM 203 temporarily storesprograms that are used in the operation of the CPU 201, parameters thatare modified as necessary during the operation of the CPU 201, and thelike. The CPU 201, the ROM 202, and the RAM 203 are interconnected bythe host bus 204, which is configured from a CPU bus and the like.

The host bus 204 connects, through the bridge 205, to the external bus206, which is a Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface (PCI) bus orthe like. Note that the discrete configuration of the host bus 204, thebridge 205, and the external bus 206 is not absolutely required, and thefunctions of the configuration may also be incorporated in to a singlebus.

The input device 208 is configured from an input portion, an inputcontrol circuit, and the like. The input portion allows a user to inputinformation and may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, a button, amicrophone, a switch, a lever, or the like, for example. The inputcontrol circuit creates an input signal based on the user input andoutputs the input signal to the CPU 201. By operating the input device208, the user of the mobile device 20 can input various types of data tothe mobile device 20 and command the mobile device 20 to performprocessing operations.

The output device 210 is configured from a display unit, such as acathode ray tube (CRT) unit, a liquid crystal display (LCD) unit, alamp, or the like, and an audio output unit, such as a speaker,headphones, or the like. The output device 210 outputs, for example,content that is played back. Specifically, the display unit displays atext or an image of various types of information, such as played-backimage data or the like. For its part, the audio output unit convertsplayed-back audio data in to sound and outputs the sound.

The storage device 211 is a device for storing data that is configuredas an example of a storage portion of the mobile device 20 according tothe present embodiment. The storage device 211 can include a storagemedium, a recording device that records the data in the storage medium,a reading device that reads the data from the storage medium, a deletingdevice that deletes the data that is recorded in the storage medium, andthe like. The storage device 211 may be made up of a hard disk drive(HDD), for example. The storage device 211 drives the hard disk andstores programs that the CPU 201 executes and various types of data.Base station information, regulating information, and the like, whichare described below, are also stored in the storage device 211.

The drive 212 is a reader-writer for the storage medium and can be builtin to or attached externally to the mobile device 20. The drive 212reads information that is recorded in a removable storage medium 24,such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, asemiconductor memory, or the like that is mounted in the drive 212 andoutputs the information to the RAM 203.

The communication device 215 is a communication interface that isconfigured, for example, as a communication device or the like to beconnected to the communication network 12. The communication device 215may also be a communication device that is compatible with a wirelesslocal area network (LAN), a communication device that is compatible withWireless USB, or a wired communication device that performscommunication using a fixed line. The communication device 215 transmitsand receives various types of data, such as the location information forthe mobile device 20, a location alias, and the like, to and from othermobile devices 20 through the communication network 12.

1-3. Functions of the Mobile Device According to the First Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that shows a functional configuration of themobile device 20 according to the present embodiment. The mobile device20 includes a communication portion 216, an information acquisitionportion 220, a storage portion 224, a display screen creation portion228, a display portion 232, a setting operation portion 236, aregistration portion 240, a determination portion 244, a selectionportion 248, and a transmission control portion 252. A method estimatingthe location of the mobile device 20 based on the functions of thecommunication portion 216, the information acquisition portion 220, andthe storage portion 224 will be explained below. Registration of theregulating information based on the functions of the display screencreation portion 228, the display portion 232, and the setting operationportion 236 will also be explained below. Information transmissioncontrol based on the functions of the determination portion 244, theselection portion 248, and the transmission control portion 252 willalso be explained below. An example of a display of the locationinformation for another party based on the functions of the displayscreen creation portion 228 and the display portion 232 will also beexplained below.

1-3-1. Method of Estimating Location of the Mobile Device

The communication portion 216 is an interface that transmits andreceives information such as the location information, the locationaliases, and the like to and from the mobile device 20B and the mobiledevice 20C. The communication portion 216 functions as a transmissionportion, a receiving portion, and a transmission device. Thecommunication portion 216 can also receive a signal that is transmittedfrom a base station 30.

The base station 30 may be a base station in an IEEE 802.11 series (forexample, 802.11b, 802.11g, or the like) wireless local area network(LAN) that is based on the Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) standards. The basestation 30 may also be a base station in the Global System for MobileCommunications. The base station 30 may also be a base station for amobile telephone or a PHS. The base station 30 may also be a short-rangewireless base station such as Bluetooth or the like. The base station 30may also be a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite.

For example, in a case where the base station 30 is a Wi-Fi base station(access point), the base station 30, in addition to any signals that ittransmits when it relays wireless communications, can transmit atregular intervals a beacon signal that announces its presence to thesurrounding area. The beacon signal may include, for example, a basestation ID as base station identifying information that is uniquelyassigned to the base station 30. The result is that the mobile device 20can recognize the presence of the base station 30 that is present in itsvicinity based on the base station ID in the beacon signal that isreceived by the communication portion 216.

The information acquisition portion 220 measures the received signalstrength of the signal that the communication portion 216 receives fromeach base station 30 in the vicinity. Based on the received signalstrength that it measures for each base station 30, the informationacquisition portion 220 acquires the location information that indicatesthe current location of the mobile device 20. The received signalstrength that the information acquisition portion 220 measures will beexplained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory figure that shows examples of locationrelationships between the mobile device 20 and the base stations 30.FIG. 5 is an explanatory figure that shows examples of the signalstrengths that are measured by the information acquisition portion 220.In the examples in FIG. 4, a base station 30A, a base station 30B, abase station 30C, and a base station 30D are disposed in the vicinity ofthe mobile device 20. The communication portion 216 of the mobile device20 can receive the signals that are transmitted from the base station30A, the base station 30B, the base station 30C, and the base station30D. Note that in this specification, for ease of explanation, thereference numeral that is assigned to each base station is used as thebase station ID for that base station.

As shown in FIG. 5, the information acquisition portion 220 measures thereceived signal strength of the signal that is transmitted from eachbase station 30 and received by the communication portion 216. FIG. 5illustrates a case in which the received signal strength of the signalthat is transmitted from the base station 30A, for which the basestation ID is 30A, is −90 Dbm, the received signal strength of thesignal that is transmitted from the base station 303, for which the basestation ID is 30B, is −70 Dbm, the received signal strength of thesignal that is transmitted from the base station 30C, for which the basestation ID is 30C, is −80 Dbm, and the received signal strength of thesignal that is transmitted from the base station 30D, for which the basestation ID is 30D, is −75 Dbm.

For its part, the storage portion 224 stores, as the base stationinformation, the base station IDs of the base stations 30 that areperforming wireless communications with the mobile device 20 and thelocation information that indicates the sites where the base stations 30are installed. Examples of the base station information that is storedin the storage portion 224 will be explained with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory figure that shows examples of the base stationinformation that is stored in the storage portion 224. As shown in FIG.6, the storage portion 224 stores, as information on the known basestations, the base station IDs, as well as latitudes and longitudes asthe location information for the sites where the base stations 30 areinstalled. Specifically, the storage portion 224 stores informationindicating that the base station 30A, for which the base station ID is30A, is installed at (east) longitude 135.001 and (north) latitude35.49.

In the same manner, the storage portion 224 stores informationindicating that the base station 30B, for which the base station ID is30B, is installed at longitude 135.002 and latitude 35.41, that the basestation 30C, for which the base station ID is 30C, is installed atlongitude 135.003 and latitude 35.50, and that the base station 30D, forwhich the base station ID is 30D, is installed at longitude 135.002 andlatitude 35.42.

Note that the form in which the location information is stored in thestorage portion 224 is not limited to the latitude and the longitude.For example, the location information may also be in the form of x, ycoordinates, polar coordinates, or vectors.

The storage portion 224 may be configured from a storage medium such asa non-volatile memory such as an electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM), or the like, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, a disk typemagnetic medium, or the like, an optical disc such as a compact discrecordable (CD-R), a compact disc rewritable (CD-RW), a digitalversatile disc recordable (DVD-R), a digital versatile disc rewritable(DVD-RW), a dual-layer digital versatile disc recordable (DVD+R), adual-layer digital versatile disc rewritable (DVD+RW), a digitalversatile disc random access memory (DVD-RAM), a Blu-ray™ discrecordable (BD-R), a dual-layer Blu-ray™ disc recordable (BD-RE), or thelike, or a magneto-optical (MO) disk or the like.

Example of a Method for Estimating the Location Information

The information acquisition portion 220 uses the measured receivedsignal strength of the signal that is transmitted from each base station30 and the base station location information that is stored in thestorage portion 224 to estimate and acquire the location information forthe mobile device 20 based on Equation 1 below, for example.

$\begin{matrix}{{{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1}} & \; \\{O = {\frac{1}{W} \cdot {\sum\limits_{i}^{\;}\left( {{Wi} \cdot {Ai}} \right)}}} & (1) \\{{{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 2}} & \; \\{{Wi} = \frac{1}{{distS}\left( {O,{Ai}} \right)}} & (2) \\{{{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 3}} & \; \\{W = {\sum\limits_{i}^{\;}{Wi}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1, Ai is the location information for the i-th base station30 that is registered in the storage portion 224. Therefore, in a casewhere the base station information is expressed by the longitude and thelatitude, as in FIG. 6, Equation 1 is used for each longitude andlatitude pair. Wi, as shown in Equation 2, is a weighting factor that isobtained based on distS (O, Ai), which expresses the distance betweenthe mobile device 20 and the i-th base station 30, as estimated from thesignal strength. W, as shown in Equation 3, is the sum of the weightingfactors.

Referring to Equation 1, the base station 30 location information forwhich distS (O, Ai) is small strongly influences the estimated locationO of the mobile device 20 for each measured time. By contrast, the basestation 30 location information for which distS (O, Ai) is large haslittle influence on the estimated location O of the mobile device 20.

By using Equation 1, the information acquisition portion 220 canreasonably estimate the location information for the mobile device 20.The information acquisition portion 220 can also acquire an address suchas “AB Prefecture, C-ku, 5-chome” based on the estimated locationinformation.

A Modification Example of the Location Information Estimation Method

Note that the method for estimating the location information for themobile device 20 is not limited to the method that uses Formula 1. Forexample, the location of the mobile device 20 may also be estimated tobe the location of the base station 30 that is the transmission sourceof the signal that has the highest received signal strength in themobile device 20. The location of the mobile device 20 may also beestimated to be a location that is central among the base stations 30that are the transmission sources of the signals whose received signalstrengths in the mobile device 20 are at least a specified thresholdvalue. The location of the mobile device 20 may also be estimated to bea location that is central among the base stations 30 that are thetransmission sources of the signals whose received signal strengths inthe mobile device 20 rank in a specified percentile, such as the top10%, the top 20%, or the like.

The location of the mobile device 20 may also be estimated to be alocation that is central among the base stations 30 that are thetransmission sources of the signals whose received signal strengths inthe mobile device 20 are of a specified rank, such as the top five, thetop ten, or the like.

A case has been explained in which the information acquisition portion220 estimates the location information for the mobile device 20 based onthe received signal strength of the signal that is transmitted from theWi-Fi base station 30. However, the information acquisition portion 220may also acquire the location information for the mobile device 20 basedon position measurement radio waves that are transmitted from a GPSsatellite. The information acquisition portion 220 may also acquire thelocation information for the mobile device 20 based on a received signalstrength of a signal that is transmitted from a base station for amobile telephone or a PHS.

Further, a case has been explained in which the estimation andacquisition of the location information for the mobile device 20 areperformed in the mobile device 20, but the present embodiment is notlimited to this example. For example, the mobile device 20 may transmitthe received signal strengths that the information acquisition portion220 has measured for each of the base stations 30 to a locationestimation server (not shown in the figures) that stores the basestation information. In the location estimation server, the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 may then be estimated based on thereceived signal strengths that are received from the mobile device 20and on the stored base station information. The mobile device 20 maythen receive the estimated location information from the locationestimation server. In this configuration, the base station informationdoes not need to be stored in the storage portion 224 of the mobiledevice 20, so the storage capacity of the storage portion 224 can bereduced.

1-3-2. Registration of Regulating Information

Next, a registration of regulating information that, in a case where themobile device 20 is present at a specific location, regulates whetherinformation that pertains to the specific location is transmitted to thecommunication portion 216 or not will be explained with reference toFIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of a regulatinginformation registration screen. FIG. 8 is an explanatory figure thatshows examples of the regulating information that is stored in thestorage portion 224. The display screen creation portion 228 creates aregulating information registration screen 300 as shown in FIG. 7, andthe display portion 232 displays the registration screen 300.Specifically, the regulating information registration screen 300includes an address display 310, which says, “Shibuto-ku, Shibuya2-chome,” an alias publication selection display 320, an alias settingdisplay 330, a location publication selection display 340, a Save button350, and a Cancel button 360.

The alias publication selection display 320 is a display for selectingwhether or not to transmit to the communication portion 216 the locationalias, which is information for transmission that expresses in adifferent form the location information “Shibuto-ku, Shibuya 2-chome”shown in the address display 310. The user of the mobile device 20 canoperate the setting operation portion 236 to place a check in the checkspace (box) of the alias publication selection display 320 so that thelocation alias will not be transmitted. If the user of the mobile device20 does not place a check in the check space of the alias publicationselection display 320, the location alias will be transmitted.

The alias setting display 330 is a display for setting the locationalias that expresses in a different form the location information“Shibuto-ku, Shibuya 2-chome” shown in the address display 310. The userof the mobile device 20 can operate the setting operation portion 236 toinput the location alias in the alias setting display 330. The locationalias may, for example, be information that indicates a location, suchas “Home”, “Company”, “Café”, or the like, or information that indicatesa status for the user of the mobile device 20, such as “Going home”, “Ina meeting”, “Free time”, or the like.

The location publication selection display 340 is a display forselecting whether or not to transmit to the communication portion 216the location information (for example, the latitude and longitude) forShibuto-ku, Shibuya 2-chome in a case where the mobile device 20 is inthe vicinity of Shibuto-ku, Shibuya 2-chome, as shown in the addressdisplay 310. The user of the mobile device 20 can operate the settingoperation portion 236 to place a check in the check space (box) of thelocation publication selection display 340 so that the locationinformation will not be transmitted. If the user of the mobile device 20does not place a check in the check space of the location publicationselection display 340, the location information will be transmitted. Ifthe regulating information shown in FIG. 7 is registered, the locationinformation will not be published in the vicinity of Shibuto-ku, Shibuya2-chome, and “Home” will be published as the location alias.

The Save button 350 is a display for setting the regulating informationto the content that is displayed on the regulating informationregistration screen 300. If the user of the mobile device 20 operatesthe setting operation portion 236 to select the Save button 350, theregulating information whose content is displayed on the regulatinginformation registration screen 300 is stored in the storage portion 224by the registration portion 240. The Cancel button 360 is a display forcanceling the regulating information registration screen 300. If theuser of the mobile device 20 operates the setting operation portion 236to select the Cancel button 360, the display screen creation portion 228stops creating the regulating information registration screen 300, andthe regulating information registration screen 300 is purged from thedisplay portion 232.

The registration portion 240 functions as a registration portion tostore the regulating information in the storage portion 224, based onthe user's operation on the regulating information registration screen300. The storage portion 224 retains the regulating information that isstored in it by the registration portion 240. For example, the storageportion 224 stores and retains the regulating information in associationwith the location information as shown in FIG. 8.

Specifically, the regulating information that regulates such that thelocation information is not published and “Home” is published as thelocation alias is associated with the location information of latitude35.6597 and longitude 139.7019. The regulating information regulatessuch that, in a case where the mobile device 20 is present at latitude35.6597 and longitude 139.7019, the location information of latitude35.6597 and longitude 139.7019 is not published and “Home” is publishedas the location alias. Note that the regulating information may also beeffective within a specified range (for example, within a radius of 100meters) from latitude 35.6597 and longitude 139.7019.

In the same manner, in the examples shown in FIG. 8, the regulatinginformation that regulates such that the location information ispublished and “Company” is published as the location alias is associatedwith the location information of latitude 35.6259 and longitude139.7304. The regulating information regulates such that, in a casewhere the mobile device 20 is present at latitude 35.6259 and longitude139.7304, the location information of latitude 35.6259 and longitude139.7304 is published and “Company” is published as the location alias.Note that the location information that is associated with theregulating information is not limited to the latitude and longitude, butmay also be an address or a unique name such as a building name, astation name, or the like. Moreover, the location information that isassociated with the regulating information may also be information thatindicates a specified range on a map, rather than a specific point on amap.

1-3-3. Transmission Control Based on the Regulating Information

Next, a transmission control of information related to the currentlocation of the mobile device 20 that is based on the regulatinginformation that is stored in the storage portion 224 will be explained.

The determination portion 244 determines whether or not the regulatinginformation that is associated with the location information for themobile device 20 that was acquired by the information acquisitionportion 220 is stored in the storage portion 224. For example, in thecase where the location information for the mobile device 20 is thelatitude 35.6259 and longitude 139.7304, the determination portion 244determines whether or not the regulating information that is associatedwith the latitude 35.6259 and longitude 139.7304 is stored in thestorage portion 224. Note that the determination portion 244 may alsodetermine whether or not the regulating information that is associatedwith location information whose difference from the location informationof the mobile device 20 is within a specified range is stored in thestorage portion 224.

In a case where the determination portion 244 determines that theregulating information that is associated with the location informationfor the mobile device 20 that was acquired by the informationacquisition portion 220 is stored in the storage portion 224, theselection portion 248 selects from the storage portion 224 theregulating information that is associated with the location informationfor the mobile device 20.

The transmission control portion 252, based on the regulatinginformation that was selected by the selection portion 248, controlstransmission from the communication portion 216 of information thatcorresponds to the location of the mobile device 20. Specifically, in acase where the regulating information that was selected by the selectionportion 248 includes a regulation that prohibits the publication of thelocation information, the transmission control portion 252 does nottransmit the location information for the mobile device 20 to thecommunication portion 216. In a case where the regulating informationthat was selected by the selection portion 248 includes the locationalias, the transmission control portion 252 transmits to thecommunication portion 216 the location alias that is included in theregulating information. The destination for the transmission of thelocation information and the location alias from the communicationportion 216 may be a wireless communication device such as the mobiledevice 20B, the mobile device 20C, or the like that is registered inadvance in a group.

In a case where the determination portion 244 determines that theregulating information that is associated with the location informationfor the mobile device 20 that was acquired by the informationacquisition portion 220 is not stored in the storage portion 224, andthe regulating information that is associated with the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 is not selected from the storageportion 224 by the selection portion 248, the transmission controlportion 252 may either transmit or not transmit the location informationfor the mobile device 20 to the communication portion 216. As can beunderstood from the above explanation, the information that correspondsto the location of the mobile device 20 includes the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 and the location alias that isincluded in the regulating information.

Therefore, there will be cases where the transmission control portion252 transmits to the communication portion 216 only the locationinformation for the mobile device 20, cases where the transmissioncontrol portion 252 transmits to the communication portion 216 only thelocation alias for the mobile device 20, cases where the transmissioncontrol portion 252 transmits to the communication portion 216 both thelocation information and the location alias for the mobile device 20,and cases where the transmission control portion 252 transmits to thecommunication portion 216 neither the location information nor thelocation alias for the mobile device 20.

Note that the regulating information may include effective periodinformation that indicates an effective period for the regulatinginformation, and the selection portion 248 may select from the storageportion 224 the regulating information that is associated with thelocation information acquired by the information acquisition portion 220and that is within the effective period. This is because there may becases where the user of the mobile device 20 does not want to publish tothird parties during a specific time period in a specific location. Forexample, the user of the mobile device 20 may want to publish to thirdparties when at work on a weekday, but not want to publish to thirdparties when at work on a holiday.

In this sort of case, if the user includes in the regulating informationeffective period information indicating a holiday to the effect that thetransmission of the location information is prohibited in the workplace,the transmission control portion 252 can prohibit the transmission ofthe location information when the mobile device 20 is present in theworkplace of the user of the mobile device 20 on the holiday. That is,the user can control whether or not to publish the location informationof the mobile device 20 according to the location of the mobile device20 and the current time. This makes it possible to further enhance theprotection of information pertaining to the current location of themobile device 20, that is, the current location of the user of themobile device 20.

1-3-4. Examples of Other Parties' Location Information Displayed on theMobile Device

Next, examples of displays on the mobile device 20 of informationpertaining to the current locations of the mobile device 2013, themobile device 20C, and the like will be explained with reference toFIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of a display ofinformation related to the current locations of the mobile device 20B,the mobile device 20C, and the like. A location display screen 400,shown in FIG. 9, includes a current location display 410 and userlocation displays 420 to 490. Note that the location display screen 400is created by the display screen creation portion 228 and displayed bythe display portion 232. Note also that for ease of explanation, thereference numeral 21 will be assigned to the other mobile devices.

The user location display 420 indicates that the mobile device 21 thatis used by a user called “Five” is in a location shown by the locationinformation “Shibuto-ku, Sakuaoka-cho” and that the location is 284meters from the mobile device 20. Note that the icon in the leftmostpart of the user location display 420 indicates that the mobile device21 that is used by the user called “Five” is in an online state.

The user location display 430 indicates that the mobile device 21 thatis used by a user called “Taro” is in a location shown by the locationinformation “Kohoku-ku, Minami-Aoyama 5-chome” and that the location is1.1 kilometers from the mobile device 20. Note that the icon in theleftmost part of the user location display 430 indicates that the mobiledevice 21 that is used by the user called “Taro” is in an offline state.

The user location display 440 indicates that a user called “Smile” is at“Lunch” and that the mobile device 21 that is used by the user called“Smile” is in a location that is 2.7 kilometers from the mobile device20. Note that in a case where only the location alias is received fromthe mobile device 21, and the location information is not received, thedisplay of the distance between the mobile device 21 and the mobiledevice 20 may be omitted.

The user location display 450 indicates that a user called “Buli” is at“Company” and that the mobile device 21 that is used by the user called“Buli” is in a location that is 4.4 kilometers from the mobile device20. Note that the icon in the leftmost part of the user location display450 indicates that although the mobile device 21 that is used by theuser called “Buli” is in an online state, a specified period is not ineffect.

In the same manner, the user location display 460 indicates that a usercalled “Peco” is at “Godaiba” and that the mobile device 21 that is usedby the user called “Peco” is in a location that is 8 kilometers from themobile device 20. The user location display 470 indicates that a usercalled “Kuro” is at “Business trip” and that the mobile device 21 thatis used by the user called “Kuro” is in a location that is 366kilometers from the mobile device 20.

The user location display 480 and the user location display 490 includeneither the location information nor the location aliases. Therefore,the information pertaining to the current locations of the mobile device21 that is used by the user called “Seven” and the mobile device 21 thatis used by the user called “Shiro” is not known.

Thus the display portion 232 can display the user location displays forother users, sorted according to the distance between the mobile device21 and the mobile device 20. Moreover, the display portion 232 candisplay the locations of the other users superimposed on a map screen,as shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory figure that shows another example of a displayof information related to the current locations of the mobile devices21. Based on the location information for the mobile devices 21 that isreceived through the communication portion 216, the display screencreation portion 228 can create a location display screen 50, as shownin FIG. 10, on which user location displays 52 to 55, which show thelocations of the mobile devices 21, are superimposed on a map screen.The display portion 232 can display the location display screen 50.

In addition, a user location display 56 displays the users of the mobiledevices 21 from which the communication portion 216 has not received thelocation information. Specifically, in FIG. 10, the user locationdisplay 56 indicates that the location information is not known for themobile devices 21 that are used by the user called “Seven” and the usercalled “Shiro”.

1-4. Operation of the Mobile Device According to the First Embodiment

Next, a wireless communication method that is executed by the mobiledevice 20 according to the present embodiment will be explained withreference to FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart that shows a flow of the wireless communicationmethod that is executed by the mobile device 20 according to the presentembodiment. First, the registration portion 240 of the mobile device 20stores the regulating information in the storage portion 224 based onthe user's operation of the setting operation portion 236 (step S504).In other words, the registration portion 240 sets the regulatinginformation based on the user's operation of the setting operationportion 236.

Next, the information acquisition portion 220 acquires the locationinformation that indicates the current location of the mobile device 20(step S508). Then the determination portion 244 determines whether ornot the regulating information that is associated with the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 is stored in the storage portion224 (step S512). If the determination portion 244 determines that theregulating information that is associated with the location informationfor the mobile device 20 is not stored in the storage portion 224, thetransmission control portion 252 transmits the location information forthe mobile device 20 to the communication portion 216 (step S516).

If it is determined at step S512 that the regulating information that isassociated with the location information for the mobile device 20 isstored in the storage portion 224, the selection portion 248 selectsfrom the storage portion 224 the regulating information that isassociated with the location information for the mobile device 20 (stepS520). Then, based on the selected regulating information, thetransmission control portion 252 determines whether or not the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 will be published (step S524). In acase where the transmission control portion 252 has determined that thelocation information will be published, the transmission control portion252 determines whether or not the location alias is included in theselected regulating information (step S528). If the transmission controlportion 252 determines that the location alias is not included in theselected regulating information, the processing proceeds to step S516,and the transmission control portion 252 transmits only the locationinformation to the communication portion 216.

On the other hand, if the transmission control portion 252 determinesthat the location alias is included in the selected regulatinginformation, the transmission control portion 252 transmits to thecommunication portion 216 both the location information for the mobiledevice 20 and the location alias that is included in the regulatinginformation (step S532).

In a case where the transmission control portion 252 determines at stepS524 that the location information for the mobile device 20 will not bepublished, the transmission control portion 252 determines whether ornot the location alias is included in the selected regulatinginformation (step S536). If the transmission control portion 252determines that the location alias is included in the selectedregulating information, the transmission control portion 252 transmitsto the communication portion 216 the location alias that is included inthe selected regulating information (step S540). On the other hand, ifthe transmission control portion 252 determines that the location aliasis not included in the selected regulating information, the transmissioncontrol portion 252 prohibits the transmission of the locationinformation and the location alias to the communication portion 216(step S544).

FIG. 12 is an explanatory figure that shows a specific example of theinformation that is transmitted from the communication portion 216. In acase where the processing at step S516 in FIG. 11 is performed, that is,in a case where the transmission control portion 252 transmits only thelocation information to the communication portion 216, the communicationportion 216 transmits only the location information, for example,“Shibuto-ku, Shibuya 2-chome Latitude 35.6597 Longitude 139.7019”, asshown in FIG. 12A.

In a case where the processing at step S532 in FIG. 11 is performed,that is, in a case where the transmission control portion 252 transmitsboth the location information and the location alias to thecommunication portion 216, the communication portion 216 transmits boththe location information and the location alias, for example, thelocation alias “Home” and the location information “Shibuto-ku, Shibuya2-chome Latitude 35.6597 Longitude 139.7019”, as shown in FIG. 12B.

In a case where the processing at step S540 in FIG. 11 is performed,that is, in a case where the transmission control portion 252 transmitsonly the location alias to the communication portion 216, thecommunication portion 216 transmits only the location alias, forexample, “Home”, as shown in FIG. 12C. Further, in a case where theprocessing at step S544 in FIG. 11 is performed, that is, in a casewhere the transmission control portion 252 prohibits the transmission ofboth the location information and the location alias to thecommunication portion 216, the communication portion 216 transmitsneither the location information nor the location alias, as shown inFIG. 12D.

As explained above, in the mobile device 20 according to the firstembodiment of the present invention, the information acquisition portion220 acquires the location information that indicates the location of themobile device 20. Further, the regulating information that regulates theinformation published by the communication portion 216 that correspondsto the location of the mobile device 20 is stored in the storage portion224 in association with the location information. The selection portion248 selects from the storage portion 224 the regulating information thatis associated with the location information for the mobile device 20,and in accordance with the selected regulating information, thetransmission control portion 252 controls the transmission from thecommunication portion 216 of the information that corresponds to thelocation of the mobile device 20. That is, the mobile device 20, basedon its own location, can control the transmission of the informationthat corresponds to its own location.

Additionally, the regulating information can include information thatregulates whether or not the location information for the mobile device20 is transmitted to the communication portion 216. The transmissioncontrol portion 252, in accordance with the regulating informationselected by the selection portion 248, can control whether or not thelocation information for the mobile device 20 is transmitted from thecommunication portion 216. Therefore, the mobile device 20 can controlwhether or not its own location information is transmitted, according toits current location, that is, according to the current location of theuser of the mobile device 20. This makes it possible to enhance theprotection of the information that pertains to the current location ofthe mobile device 20 and of the user of the mobile device 20.

The regulating information can also include the location alias, whichexpresses, in a different form, the associated location information inthe storage portion 224. The transmission control portion 252 cantransmit to the communication portion 216 the location alias that isincluded in the regulating information that is selected by the selectionportion 248. Therefore, if the transmission control portion 252transmits the location alias to the communication portion 216 based onthe regulating information, it is possible to publish the informationthat corresponds to the location of the mobile device 20 withoutpublishing the location information itself to third parties.

1-5. Modification Examples of the First Embodiment

Note that in the explanation above, the information that indicates thelocation of the mobile device 20 was used as an example of the locationinformation, but the location information is not limited to thatexample. That is, the information that the information acquisitionportion 220 acquires, and the information that is stored in the storageportion 224 in association with the regulating information, is notlimited to the information that indicates the location. For example, thelocation information may also be information that is uniquely obtainableat a certain location. That is, the information acquisition portion 220may also acquire information that is uniquely obtainable at the locationof the mobile device 20, and the selection portion 248 may select fromthe storage portion 224 the regulating information that corresponds to,the information that is uniquely obtainable at the location of themobile device 20. This will be explained in detail below with referenceto FIGS. 13 and 14.

The signal strength pattern (wireless context) of the signals that themobile device 20 receives in a given location from a plurality of thebase stations 30 is a wireless context that is unique to that location.Cases where the same wireless context can be acquired in anotherlocation are rare. Therefore, the location of the mobile device 20 canbe almost uniquely estimated by acquiring the wireless context of themobile device 20. This modification example is proposed based on asituation in which a unique wireless context is obtainable in a givenlocation.

In this modification example, the wireless contexts shown in FIG. 13,for example, are stored in advance in the storage portion 224 inassociation with the regulating information that includes the locationaliases.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of the regulatinginformation that is stored in the storage portion 224. As shown in FIG.13, the location aliases, such as “Home”, “Company”, and the like, areeach associated with a set of the received signal strengths for the basestations 30, each set serving as the wireless context for the associatedlocation alias. Specifically, the location alias “Home” is associatedwith the wireless context in which the received signal strength of thesignal that is transmitted from the base station 30A, for which the basestation ID is 30A, is −90 Dbm, the received signal strength of thesignal that is transmitted from the base station 30B, for which the basestation ID is 30B, is −70 Dbm, the received signal strength of thesignal that is transmitted from the base station 30C, for which the basestation ID is 30C, is −80 Dbm, and the received signal strength of thesignal that is transmitted from the base station 30D, for which the basestation ID is 30D, is −75 Dbm. In the same manner, the location aliases“Company” and “Meeting place” are also each associated with a wirelesscontext that includes a plurality of combinations of the base stationIDs and the received signal strengths.

The information acquisition portion 220 measures the received signalstrength of the signal that is transmitted from each of the basestations 30 in the vicinity. The information acquisition portion 220then acquires the wireless context for the mobile device 20, whichincludes the combinations of the base station IDs and the receivedsignal strengths.

The determination portion 244 determines whether or not the regulatinginformation that is associated with a wireless context that matches orresembles the wireless context of the mobile device 20 that theinformation acquisition portion 220 acquired is stored in the storageportion 224. The selection portion 248 selects from the storage portion224 the regulating information that is associated with the wirelesscontext that matches or resembles the wireless context of the mobiledevice 20.

Examples of this technique are provided here, using a case in which adetermination is made of a resemblance between a wireless context A anda wireless context B.

(1) In a case where the base station IDs included in the wirelesscontext A and the base station IDs included in the wireless context Bmatch by at least a specified degree of resemblance, the wirelesscontext A and the wireless context B are determined to match or resembleone another. In a case where the base station IDs included in thewireless context A and the base station IDs included in the wirelesscontext B do not match by at least a specified degree of resemblance,the wireless context A and the wireless context B are determined not tomatch or resemble one another.

(2) In a case where at least a specified number of the base station IDsincluded in the wireless context A for which the received signalstrengths are at least a specified value match the base station IDsincluded in the wireless context B for which the received signalstrengths are at least the specified value, the wireless context A andthe wireless context B are determined to match or resemble one another.In a case where the specified number of the base station IDs included inthe wireless context A for which the received signal strengths are atleast a specified value do not match the base station IDs included inthe wireless context B for which, the received signal strengths are atleast the specified value, the wireless context A and the wirelesscontext B are determined not to match or resemble one another.

(3) The correlation between the aggregates of the base station IDs andthe received signal strengths in the wireless context A and the wirelesscontext 13 is computed as a coefficient. If the correlation coefficientis at least a set value, the wireless context A and the wireless contextB are determined to match or resemble one another. If the correlationcoefficient is not at least the set value, the wireless context A andthe wireless context B are determined not to match or resemble oneanother.

(4) The determination of the resemblance between the wireless context Aand the wireless context B can also be made using any other techniquesand any other standards that are desired.

The transmission control portion 252 transmits to the communicationportion 216 the location alias that is included in the regulatinginformation selected by the selection portion 248. Therefore, forexample, if the regulating information that includes the location alias“Home” is stored in the storage portion 224 in association with thewireless context for “Home”, then when the mobile device 20 is at“Home”, the information acquisition portion 220 can acquire the wirelesscontext at “Home”, the selection portion 248 can select from the storageportion 224 the regulating information that includes the location alias“Home”, and the transmission control portion 252 can transmit thelocation alias “Home” to the communication portion 216.

In this configuration, the process of estimating the location of themobile device 20 based on the received signal strengths of the signalsthat the mobile device 20 receives from each of the base stations 30 inthe vicinity is unnecessary. Therefore, the need to store the basestation information in the mobile device 20 for each of the basestations 30 and the need to query the location estimation server thatestimates the location of the mobile device 20 are eliminated. It thusbecomes possible to scale back the hardware and reduce the processingload of the mobile device 20.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart that shows a flow of the modification example ofthe present embodiment. First, the communication portion 216 receivesthe signal that is transmitted from each of the base stations in thevicinity (step S554). Then the information acquisition portion 220acquires the wireless context for the mobile device 20 based on thesignals that the communication portion 216 receives. Next, thedetermination portion 244 determines whether or not a wireless contextthat matches or resembles the wireless context for the mobile device 20is stored in the storage portion 224 (step S558).

If it is determined that a wireless context that matches or resemblesthe wireless context for the mobile device 20 is not stored in thestorage portion 224, the transmission control portion 252 does nottransmit to the communication portion 216 the information pertaining tothe location of the mobile device 20 (step S562). On the other hand, ifit is determined that a wireless context that matches or resembles thewireless context for the mobile device 20 is stored in the storageportion 224, the transmission control portion 252 transmits to thecommunication portion 216 the location alias that is included in theregulating information that is associated with the wireless context thatmatches or resembles the wireless context for the mobile device 20.

Note that not every structure in the mobile device 20 that is shown inFIG. 3 is necessarily required to be installed in the same device, andthe structures may be installed separately in a plurality of devices.For example, the device in which the information acquisition portion 220is installed may be separate from the device in which the storageportion 224, the determination portion 244, the selection portion 248,and the transmission control portion 252 are installed.

2. Description of a Second Embodiment of the Present Invention

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained.Specifically, the purpose of the second embodiment of the presentinvention, as well as a function and an operation of a control serveraccording to the second embodiment of the present invention, will beexplained with reference to FIGS. 15 to 20.

2-1. Purpose of the Second Embodiment

According to the first embodiment, the determination of whether or notthe location information for the mobile device 20 is published can becontrolled according to the current location of the mobile device 20,that is, the current location of the user of the mobile device 20.However, there are many cases where, for example, even if the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 is published to another mobiledevice 21 in a location several hundred kilometers away from the mobiledevice 20, the mobile device 21 cannot make effective use of thelocation information for the mobile device 20.

Accordingly, the second embodiment of the present invention was createdto address this sort of situation. A control server 40 according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention can control whether or notthe location information for the mobile device 20 is transmitted to themobile device 21 according to the distance between the mobile device 20and the mobile device 21. The control server 40 will be explained indetail below as an example of an information processing device.

2-2. Control Server Functions According to the Second Embodiment

FIG. 15 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of aconfiguration of a wireless communication system 2 according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, in thepresent embodiment, all of the mobile devices 20 are connected throughthe control server 40.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram that shows a functional configuration of themobile devices 20 and the control server 40 according to the presentembodiment. The mobile device 20 includes a communication portion 216,an information acquisition portion 220, a storage portion 224, a displayscreen creation portion 228, a display portion 232, and a settingoperation portion 236. The control server 40, as the example of theinformation processing device, includes a communication portion 266, aninformation acquisition portion 270, a computation portion 272, astorage portion 274, and a transmission control portion 276.

If the distance between the mobile device 20 and the mobile device 21exceeds a specified threshold value, the control server 40 does nottransmit the location information for the mobile device 20 to the mobiledevice 21. If the distance between the mobile device 20 and the mobiledevice 21 does not exceed the specified threshold value, the controlserver 40 transmits the location information for the mobile device 20 tothe mobile device 21. The mobile device 20 can set the specifiedthreshold value. A method of setting the specified threshold value inthe mobile device 20 will be explained with reference to FIG. 17.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of a regulatinginformation registration screen 600. The regulating informationregistration screen 600 is a screen that is created by the displayscreen creation portion 228 and displayed by the display portion 232. Inthe example shown in FIG. 17, the regulating information registrationscreen 600 includes an address display 610, which says, “Shibuto-ku,Shibuya 2-chome,” an alias publication selection display 620, an aliassetting display 630, a publication range setting display 640, a Savebutton 650, and a Cancel button 660. The address display 610, the aliaspublication selection display 620, and the alias setting display 630 aresubstantially the same as the address display 310, the alias publicationselection display 320, and the alias setting display 330 that wereexplained with reference to FIG. 7, so the explanation of these parts isomitted.

The publication range setting display 640 includes a publicationselection display 642 and a range setting display 644. The publicationselection display 642 is a display for selecting whether or not topublish the location information for the mobile device 20. In theexample shown in FIG. 17, the publication selection display 642 has beenchecked, indicating that the publication of the location information forthe mobile device 20 has been selected.

The range setting display 644 is a display for setting a range withinwhich the location information for the mobile device 20 will bepublished to the other mobile devices 21 in a case where the publicationof the location information for the mobile device 20 has been selectedin the publication selection display 642. In the example shown in FIG.17, the location information will be published from the mobile device 20to the other mobile devices 21 that are within the range of the distancethat is set in the range setting display 644. In other words, thecontrol server 40 publishes the location information for the mobiledevice 20 to the mobile devices 21 whose distances from the mobiledevice 20 are within the specified threshold value, and the rangesetting display 644 is the display for setting the specified thresholdvalue.

The Save button 650 is a display for setting the regulating informationto the content that is displayed on the regulating informationregistration screen 600. If the user of the mobile device 20 operatesthe setting operation portion 236 to select the Save button 650, theregulating information whose content is displayed on the regulatinginformation registration screen 600 is transmitted to the control server40 by the communication portion 216. The control server 40 then storesin the storage portion 274 the regulating information that was receivedfrom the mobile device 20. The Cancel button 660 is a display forcanceling the regulating information registration screen 600. If theuser of the mobile device 20 operates the setting operation portion 236to select the Cancel button 660, the display screen creation portion 228stops creating the regulating information registration screen 600, andthe regulating information registration screen 600 is purged from thedisplay portion 232.

The storage portion 274 of the control server 40 stores the regulatinginformation that was received from the mobile device 20, as shown inFIG. 18.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory figure that shows an example of the regulatinginformation that is stored in the storage portion 274 of the controlserver 40. As shown in FIG. 18, the control server 40 stores a locationinformation publication range in association with a device ID thatidentifies the mobile device 20 and a reference location.

In the example shown in FIG. 18, in the case of the mobile device 20with the device ID “1”, which is located at latitude 35.0012 andlongitude 135.012, the regulating information indicates that thelocation information for the mobile device 20 will be published to themobile devices 21 that are within a distance of 500 meters from themobile device 20. In the case of the mobile device 20 with the device ID“2”, which is located at latitude 35.0110 and longitude 135.024, theregulating information indicates that the location information for themobile device 20 will be published to the mobile devices 21 that arewithin a distance of 10 kilometers from the mobile device 20. In thecase of the mobile device 20 with the device ID “3”, which is located atlatitude 35.0005 and longitude 135.002, the regulating informationindicates that the location information for the mobile device 20 will bepublished to the mobile devices 21 that are within a distance of 1kilometer from the mobile device 20.

Note that the storage portion 274 of the control server 40 may be thesame sort of storage medium as the storage portion 224 of the mobiledevice 20, for example, a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM, anEPROM, or the like, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, a disk typemagnetic medium, or the like, an optical disk such as a CD-R, a CD-RW, aDVD-R, a DVD-RW, a DVD+R, a DVD+RW, a DVD-RAM), a BD-R™, a BD-RE™, orthe like, or an MO disk or the like.

The information acquisition portion 270 of the control server 40acquires from each mobile device 20 information from which it ispossible to estimate the location of the mobile device 20 (for example,the location information, a wireless context, or the like for the mobiledevice 20). The computation portion 272 computes the distances betweenthe mobile devices 20 based on the information that the informationacquisition portion 270 acquired, from which it is possible to estimatethe location of each mobile device 20.

The transmission control portion 276 controls the information that istransmitted to the communication portion 266, based on the distancesbetween the mobile devices 20 as computed by the computation portion 272and the regulating information that is stored in the storage portion274. For example, in a case where the mobile device 20 with the deviceID “1” is located at latitude 35.0012 and longitude 135.012 and a mobiledevice 21 with a device ID “5” is 1 kilometer away, the transmissioncontrol portion 276 may prohibit the transmission of the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 from the communication portion 266to the mobile device 21 and transmit only the location alias for themobile device 20.

Note that a case has been explain in which the regulating informationincludes the reference location for the mobile device 20, but theinclusion of the reference location for the mobile device 20 in theregulating information is not necessarily required. That is, the controlserver 40 may also control whether or not the location information forthe mobile device 20 is published to the other mobile devices 21 basedonly on the distances between the mobile device 20 and the other mobiledevices 21, regardless of the location of the mobile device 20.

2-3. Control Server Operation According to the Second Embodiment

Next, an information processing method that is executed in the mobiledevice 20 and the control server 40 according to the present embodimentwill be explained with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart that shows a flow of an operation of the mobiledevice 20 according to the present embodiment. First, the mobile device20 transmits to the control server 40, as the regulating information,the location information publication range that is set based on theuser's operation of the setting operation portion 236 (step S704). Next,the information acquisition portion 220 acquires the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 (step (S708). Then thecommunication portion 216 transmits the device ID and the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 to the control server 40 (stepS712). At this point, the mobile device 20 may also transmit thelocation alias for the mobile device 20 to the control server 40.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart that shows a flow of the information processingmethod that is executed by the control server 40 according to thepresent embodiment. First, the control server 40 receives the locationinformation publication range as the regulating information from eachmobile device 20 and stores the location information publication rangein the storage portion 274 (step S750). Next, the informationacquisition portion 270 receives the location information and the deviceID for each mobile device 20 (step S754).

Next, the computation portion 272 computes the distances between themobile devices 20 based on the location information for the mobiledevices 20 that the information acquisition portion 270 received (stepS758). Then the transmission control portion 276 determines whether ornot the distance between a certain mobile device A and another mobiledevice is within the location information publication range for themobile device A, based on the regulating information that is stored inthe storage portion 274 (step S762). If it is determined that thedistance between the mobile device A and another mobile device is notwithin the location information publication range for the mobile deviceA, the transmission control portion 276 selects an unprocessed mobiledevice as the other mobile device, and the processing returns to stepS762 (step S766).

If it is determined at step S762 that the distance between the mobiledevice A and another mobile device is within the location informationpublication range for the mobile device A, the transmission controlportion 276 transmits the location information for the mobile device Ato the other mobile device from the communication portion 266 (stepS770). Next, the transmission control portion 276 determines whether ornot the processing has been completed for all of the mobile devicesother than the mobile device A (step S774). If the processing has notbeen completed for all of the mobile devices other than the mobiledevice A, the processing returns to step 766. If the processing has beencompleted for all of the mobile devices other than the mobile device A,the information processing method terminates. Note that in a case wherethe location alias of the mobile device A has been acquired, thetransmission control portion 276 may transmit the location alias for themobile device A to the other mobile device regardless of the distancebetween the mobile device A and the other mobile device.

3. Conclusion

As explained above, the mobile device 20 according to the firstembodiment of the present invention can control whether or not its ownlocation information is transmitted, according to its current location,that is, according to the current location of the user of the mobiledevice 20. This makes it possible to enhance the protection of theinformation that pertains to the current location of the mobile device20 and of the user of the mobile device 20. The regulating informationcan also include the location alias, which expresses, in a differentform, the associated location information in the storage portion 224.The transmission control portion 252 can transmit to the communicationportion 216 the location alias that is included in the regulatinginformation that is selected by the selection portion 248. Therefore, ifthe transmission control portion 252 transmits the location alias to thecommunication portion 216 based on the regulating information, it ispossible to publish the information that corresponds to the location ofthe mobile device 20 without publishing the location information itselfto third parties.

Furthermore, for the mobile device 20 according to the first embodimentof the present invention, the process of estimating the location of themobile device 20 based on the received signal strengths of the signalsthat the mobile device 20 receives from each of the base stations 30 inthe vicinity is not necessarily required. Therefore, the need to storethe base station information in the mobile device 20 for each of thebase stations 30 and the need to query the location estimation serverthat estimates the location of the mobile device 20 are eliminated. Itthus becomes possible to scale back the hardware and reduce theprocessing load of the mobile device 20.

In addition, the control server 40 according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention can control whether or not the locationinformation for the mobile device 20 is transmitted to the other mobiledevice 21, according to the distance between the mobile device 20 andthe mobile device 21.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

For example, each step of the processing in the mobile device 20 and thecontrol server 40 in this specification does not necessarily have to beperformed in a temporal sequence in the order shown in the flowcharts.Processing in which each step is performed in parallel or individually(for example, parallel processing or object-oriented processing) mayalso be included.

Further, in the explanation of the second embodiment, an example wasexplained in which the control server 40 performs the transmission ofthe location information for the mobile device 20 to the other mobiledevice 21, but the present invention is not limited to this example. Forexample, in a case where the control server 40 computes the distancebetween the mobile device 20 and the mobile device 21, and the computeddistance is within the location information publication range for themobile device 20, the control server 40 may permit the mobile device 20to transmit the location information to the mobile device 21, and themobile device 20 may transmit its own location information to the mobiledevice 21.

It is also possible to create a computer program that will cause thehardware that is built in to the mobile device 20 and the control server40, such as the CPU, the ROM, the RAM, and the like, to exhibitfunctions that are equivalent to each structure in the mobile device 20and the control server 40 described above. A storage medium may also beprovided to store the computer program. Moreover, a series of processescan be implemented in hardware by structuring as hardware the functionalblocks shown in the functional block diagrams in FIGS. 3 and 16.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing device that cancommunicate with a plurality of communication devices, comprising: atransmission portion that transmits information; an informationacquisition portion that acquires from each of the communication devicesinformation from which it is possible to estimate a location of therespective communication device, and also further acquires a uniquelyassociated publication range for each of the communication devices; acomputation portion that computes a distance between a first one of thecommunication devices and a second one of the communication devicesbased on the information acquired from each of the communicationdevices; and a transmission control portion that controls transmissionfrom the transmission portion of information that corresponds to thelocation of the first communication device, based on a comparisonbetween the distance between the first communication device and thesecond communication device that was computed by the computation portionand a user-selected threshold distance corresponding to a maximumdistance of the publication range uniquely associated with the firstcommunication device, wherein the information that corresponds to thelocation of the first communication device comprises at least one of ageographic location and a location alias.
 2. The information processingdevice according to claim 1, wherein: if the distance between the firstcommunication device and the second communication device that wascomputed by the computation portion exceeds the user-selected thresholddistance corresponding to the maximum distance of the publication rangeuniquely associated with the first communication device, thetransmission control portion prohibits the transmission from thetransmission portion of the location information for the firstcommunication device.
 3. The information processing device according toclaim 1, wherein the geographic location comprises a latitude and alongitude.
 4. The information processing device according to claim 1,wherein: if the distance between the first communication device and thesecond communication device that was computed by the computation portionis less than the user-selected threshold distance corresponding to themaximum distance of the publication range uniquely associated with thefirst communication device, the transmission control portion controlsthe transmission portion to transmit both the geographic location andthe location alias corresponding to the first communication device. 5.The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: theuniquely associated publication range for each of the communicationdevices corresponds to a respective distance from respective locationsof the communication devices within which transmission of locationinformation is allowed.
 6. The information processing device accordingto claim 1, wherein: the user-selected threshold distance is selected byat least one of the first communication device and a user of the firstcommunication device.
 7. The information processing device according toclaim 1, wherein: the user-selected threshold distance is selected by auser of the first communication device.
 8. The information processingdevice according to claim 1, wherein: the information that correspondsto the location of the first communication device comprises thegeographic location of the first communication device.
 9. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a program configuredto command a computer to function as: an information processing devicethat can communicate with a plurality of communication devices and thatincludes an information acquisition portion that acquires from each ofthe communication devices information from which it is possible toestimate a location of the respective communication device, and furtheracquires a uniquely associated publication range for each of thecommunication devices; a computation portion that computes a distancebetween a first one of the communication devices and a second one of thecommunication devices based on the information acquired from each of thecommunication devices; and a transmission control portion that controlstransmission from a transmission device of information that correspondsto the location of the first communication device, based on a comparisonbetween the distance between the first communication device and thesecond communication device that was computed by the computation portionand a user-selected threshold distance corresponding to a maximumdistance of the publication range uniquely associated with the firstcommunication device, wherein the information that corresponds to thelocation of the first communication device comprises at least one of ageographic location and a location alias.
 10. An information processingmethod, comprising the steps of: acquiring from each of a plurality ofcommunication devices information from which it is possible to estimatea location of the respective communication device, and further acquiresa uniquely associated publication range for each of the communicationdevices; computing a distance between a first one of the communicationdevices and a second one of the communication devices based on theinformation acquired from each of the communication devices; andcontrolling transmission of information that corresponds to the locationof the first communication device, based on a comparison between thecomputed distance between the first communication device and the secondcommunication device, and a user-selected threshold distancecorresponding to a maximum distance of the publication range uniquelyassociated with the first communication device, wherein the informationthat corresponds to the location of the first communication devicecomprises at least one of a geographic location and a location alias.